Design & Brand Program Manager

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Serve as a project manager/coordinator for the Design and Brand Team, overseeing the intake, management and reporting on design team workload, tracking and driving deliverables as needed, while prioritizing the work that most effectively advances brand impact and customer experience.
• Manage ideation & production process, acting as regular liaison to all internal and external partners, ensuring alignment to enterprise brand standards across all environments and touchpoints.
• Work alongside Design Director to ideate and execute on strategic vision for the Design and Brand Team and its work.
• Lead strategic and high visibility design project work, working alongside Design Lead to align with on-brand aesthetic and function.
• Work with Design and Brand Team agency partners to manage strategic business reviews; responsible for general vendor management, including establishment of vendor SLAs and gathering VOC feedback on vendor partners.
• Develop and maintain vendor partner relationships to inspire discretionary effort and drive exceptional outcomes.
• Be the first point of escalation for needs others have from the Design and Brand team.
• Occasionally when needed, step in to handle design requests on a limited basis as a stop-gap measure to ensure the Design and Brand Team can stay on mission.
• Track budget, forecasting and spend in collaboration with finance counterparts.
• Work with design team members and others to proactively identify challenges and create solutions.
• Serve as back up to Brand Director, executing on design strategy and driving deliverables, with accountability for maintaining brand cohesion across all active initiatives.
• Serve as a primary back up to Design Director. Lead and provide direction and guidance to Design Lead as it pertains to process and project execution.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required

• Design background (BS or BA) or equivalent experience required (preferably in architectural or interior design); Graphic design minor preferred.
• Strong technical skills (AutoCAD, SketchUp, Adobe Creative Suite – InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator).
• Strong design sensibilities, and an understanding of how design communicates and reinforces brand.
• Human centered/people-first approach to design challenges and professional relationships.
• Proactive ability to create order from ambiguity.
• Strong peer leadership, with the ability to influence towards brand-aligned decisions across stakeholders.
• Able to clearly communicate ideas and strategy, verbally and visually.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Self-starter with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Detail oriented.